Ensuring Safeguards and Community Rights in India's Emerging Carbon Market
As India develops its Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS), it must learn from global failures where carbon projects exploited local communities. Carbon markets reward emission reductions but risk becoming 'modern plantations' that bypass land rights and customary usage. The article highlights the Northern Kenya Rangelands project as a cautionary tale of top-down governance. For India, especially in agriculture and forestry, it is vital to ensure Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC), equitable benefit-sharing, and transparent legal frameworks. This prevents the marginalization of smallholders and tribal communities while ensuring that climate action does not come at the cost of social justice.
Key Points
- India is establishing its own Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS) to set emission benchmarks for energy-intensive sectors.
- Carbon projects in afforestation and agriculture often extend into areas with customary land use, risking local displacement.
- The principle of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) is essential to ensure community-led resource management.
- A balanced, lightweight regulatory architecture is needed to guarantee transparency without creating bureaucratic bottlenecks.
Exam Facts
- CCTS stands for Carbon Credit Trading Scheme.
- One carbon credit represents the certified reduction or removal of one tonne of CO2 equivalent.
- REDD+ stands for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation.
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